What is Victory?
by cherylwoo
Summary: After the WC quarter-finals, Haizaki seeks out Kise. Rated for implications of rape.


A/N – This is a little late – I had planned to have this out after the Kaijou-Fukuda Sogo match in the anime, but I couldn't finish this on time. My apologies!

Kise let out a groan as he lifted his injured right leg to stretch out onto the bench. He was in the locker-room, and the rest of the Kaijou team had already gone home. Kise didn't feel up to walking to the train station to take the train home just yet, so after reassuring Kasamatsu that he would be alright on his own, the Kaijou basketball team members had gone home to get some much-needed rest before the semi-final.

Gingerly, Kise massaged his ankle. His leg didn't hurt as much before the start of the match, which was why Kise had thought it would have been okay to play. But after Haizaki had purposely stepped on it and Kise had tried forcefully to pull it out of Haizaki's foot, it seemed to be too much pressure on his ligaments and his leg had started burning. Briefly, Kise wondered if his leg would recover and stop hurting overnight.

SLAM!

Kise's head shot up. His eyes widened when he saw Haizaki at the doorway.

There was blood flowing out of Haizaki's nose. However, it looked like Haizaki had tried to stop the bleeding, but had failed and given up, due to the bloodstains on his tracksuit.

"What happened to you?" asked Kise. He really didn't feel like talking to Haizaki at the moment, but he felt it was common courtesy to show concern when an acquaintance turned up with a bleeding nose.

Haizaki didn't reply. He sneered, approaching Kise.

Kise cautiously placed his injured leg on the ground. He prepared himself to stand up and walk away. He didn't like the aura that Haizaki was emanating. It was dark. It was dangerous.

Suddenly, Haizaki grabbed Kise's hand roughly and yanked Kise to his feet towards him.

"What are you-? Let me go!" yelled Kise, pulling back with equal force.

But Haizaki didn't let go. The force of Kise pulling caused the two of them to tumble onto the ground, Kise falling on his back and Haizaki falling on top of Kise.

A struggle ensued, with Kise trying desperately to buck Haizaki off and Haizaki maintaining his hold onto Kise. Eventually, Haizaki snatched a stray piece of wire that was lying on the ground and tied Kise's wrists together.

Kise vaguely knew what was going to happen. He knew Haizaki's violent temperament well enough. Despite that, Kise continued his fervent struggling.

When Haizaki hooked his thumb into the waistband of Kise's shorts, Kise's eyes widened in horror. He had thought Haizaki was just going to beat him up, but he never thought Haizaki would stoop so low… "No! Stop!" Kise attempted to kick his left leg out, but Haizaki anticipated it and grasped Kise's leg, holding it in place.

Haizaki made a sound of annoyance. It seemed that Kise was getting too noisy for his liking. Haizaki reached behind and pulled the socks Kise was wearing off his feet, and stuffed them into Kise's mouth.

Then, Haizaki pulled Kise's pants down and leaned forward to lick a stripe down Kise's neck. "Don't worry, Ryouta," he sneered. "I'll take care of you real good."

* * *

When it was over and Haizaki had left, Kise lay naked on the cold, hard floor in a daze for a moment. His clothes had been flung across the room, and Kise couldn't yet muster the energy to retrieve them. Besides, his wrists were still tied together, and he had to free them first in order to get up and do anything.

Kise brought his wrists up to pull his sock out of his mouth and cleared his throat. His voice was hoarse from the screaming in pain through the gag in his mouth. Haizaki was, no doubt, not gentle with the rape.

Kise felt hollow. He wasn't a virgin, so he hadn't just lost his virginity to Haizaki, but to have been raped… what more, being a man… to Kise, that was a shameful affair. And… what would his boyfriend think when he found out? Aomine was a possessive man, and the knowledge that another person had had sex with Kise… well, he wouldn't stand for it. Would Aomine break up with Kise knowing that Kise had given his body to another person? Kise's lower lip trembled, and his vision became blurry as tears gathered in his eyes. He couldn't imagine Aomine out of his life. He needed Aomine in his life. Aomine couldn't fault Kise for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, could he?

A sob escaped Kise's throat, and he turned his head to the side. He blinked once and the tears flowed out of his eyes. All he wanted to do right now was to go home and bury himself under his covers and sleep this nightmare away.

Kise furiously yanked his hands apart to loosen the cord around his wrists. Eventually, he managed to pull his hands out.

Kise got up, gasping as a searing pain shot through his asshole and lower back. He limped to gather his clothes. He put on his underwear and jersey top, and stuffed his jersey bottom into his bag. Kise knew he was filthy and should take a shower before heading home, but he couldn't stand to be naked again. At least, not right now. Then, Kise slipped on the blue Kaijou trackpants and jacket.

Now fully dressed, Kise slung his bag over his shoulder and staggered out to head back to his apartment.

* * *

Kise had no idea how he managed to get home. His mind was blank and his body merely operated on auto-pilot.

Upon getting out of the lift and walking up to his apartment, Kise was surprised to find Aomine waiting for him at his front door. Ever since he started going to Kaijou, Kise had moved out of his parents' home in Tokyo to live in Kanagawa, where it was closer to his school, and so he wouldn't have to spend such a long time transporting himself from Tokyo to Kanagawa. So, he lived alone, and if he was not at home, there was no one to open the door to let Aomine in.

When Aomine heard Kise's footsteps approaching, he looked up and smiled at his boyfriend. "Ryouta," he greeted, waving and beckoning Kise closer. Aomine and Kise had taken to addressing each other by their first names when they were alone.

Kise gripped the strap of his bag. His hand was trembling. Kise didn't know how to face Aomine after what had happened. He didn't know how Aomine would react. Would Aomine dump him? Kise bit his lower lip to prevent himself from breaking down in tears right there and then.

When Kise didn't move from his position, Aomine stepped forward towards Kise. He extended his arms outwards so that he could embrace Kise.

Kise didn't respond, but he did lean closer into Aomine.

"What's wrong, Ryouta? I thought you'd be happy – Kaijou won!"

Kise shrugged. He didn't trust himself to speak – he was afraid he would burst into tears if he opened his mouth. His eyes were already burning a little.

Aomine took Kise's hand. "Come on, let's go inside, and…" his voice trailed off when he caught sight of the chaffed skin on Kise's wrists where the wire had rubbed against the skin when Kise was struggling against Haizaki. "Ryouta, what happened to your hand?"

Kise's eyes widened, and he snatched his hand away from Aomine. "Don't…" he whimpered.

Aomine ignored Kise. He grabbed Kise's other hand and rolled up the sleeves, revealing similar marks on the wrists. "Ryouta…" he looked at Kise in concern.

"Can we… Can we go inside and talk?" Kise's voice was starting to break.

"Okay," said Aomine quietly. Kise was not acting like himself – an affectionate, boisterous boy. And that worried Aomine. He gently took Kise's hand and led him towards the entrance of his apartment and allowed the blonde to fish out his keys and unlock the door. He noticed that when Kise walked, he was limping as well, but assumed that it was because of his injured foot.

When both Aomine and Kise were in Kise's apartment, and Kise had closed the door behind them, they made their way to Kise's room. Normally, Kise would get a drink for Aomine, since he had travelled a fair bit from his own home in Tokyo, but today, Kise just didn't have it in him to move.

Aomine and Kise made themselves comfortable on Kise's bed. They were seated facing each other.

Kise was the first to break the silence between them. "Daikicchi…" he began, but a sob ripped through his throat.

Aomine took Kise's face in his hands. He used his thumbs to wipe away the tears that were running down Kise's face. Then, he leaned forward and planted a chaste kiss on Kise's lips, hoping it would make the blonde feel better.

"Don't distract me, Daikicchi!" said Kise helplessly through his sobbing.

Aomine chuckled and pulled away from Kise. "Sorry, sorry!" he said. Nevertheless, he took Kise's hands and ran his fingers comfortingly along the wire-burns. "Can you tell me what's wrong then?"

Kise took a shuddering breath in. He silently prayed to the gods that Aomine would not dump him. When they had started dating, Aomine and Kise had sworn to be truthful to each other. Kise opened his mouth and started recalling his encounter with Haizaki. He could see Aomine's expression change from shock to fury to worry as he recounted his tale.

Aomine didn't know what he was feeling as he listened to Kise speak while sniffling. It was an equal mix of anger towards Haizaki and concern for Kise's wellbeing. He felt like he should storm out and murder Haizaki, but seeing Kise looking so small and vulnerable made him think twice. Without thinking, Aomine blurted, "We need to report this to the police – he can't get away with this!"

"NO!" Kise cried, wrapping his arms around Aomine's hips as he stood up to prevent him from moving any further. "I don't want anyone else to know!"

"What? Why not?!" Aomine demanded.

"It's embarrassing!" Kise wailed. "I am a man and yet I let something like this happen to me – it's pathetic! The tabloids would have a field day with this!"

Aomine stared at Kise. Well, he totally understood Kise's feelings. Kise was a model, and the tabloids could be very brutal with what is reported should they find out what had happened. "Okay. We won't call the police," Aomine relented. He pried Kise's arms away from his hips and sat back down on the bed. He took Kise into his arms. "You are not weak," he murmured into Kise's ear. "You're one of the strongest people I know."

Kise stiffened when he felt Aomine gather him into a hug. "You're not… you're not going to break up with me?" he asked in a small voice.

Aomine tightened his hold on Kise. "Why would I?"

"Because I'm damaged goods?" said Kise quietly.

Aomine snorted at Kise's metaphor. He released Kise from the hug and pulled away to look him in the eye. Aomine reached out to stroke Kise's cheek. "So that bastard had his way with you. I don't care. You didn't want it, right? It doesn't change the fact that I love you."

Kise felt relieved. He had thought Aomine was going to walk out of the door once he found out that Haizaki had raped Kise. But that fact that Aomine was still here… Kise felt a flutter in his heart. He felt comforted by the fact that Aomine still loved him.

"It doesn't matter to me at all," continued Aomine. He took Kise's hand in his and ran comforting circles on the back of Kise's hand.

Kise nodded. "Okay," he said softly. "I love you too, Daikicchi."

Aomine smiled and planted kisses all over Kise's face. He inhaled and breathed in Kise's scent of sunflowers… and was it sweat he was detecting? "Ryouta, you stink of sweat," Aomine commented.

"So mean, Daikicchi," Kise pouted.

Aomine bit his lip. Kise's red-rimmed eyes made his pout look all the more adorable, and Aomine had to resist the urge to pounce on Kise and kiss him senseless.

"Actually, I haven't showered," said Kise. "After I had put my clothes on, I really didn't want to be naked again…"

Aomine watched Kise. He was strangely calm. Then, he reached forward to push Kise's jacket down his shoulders. "How about now? Are you able to remove your clothes to take a bath?"

"I…" Kise swallowed, looking nervously at the jacket that was slowly making its way down his arms, revealing the bruises Haizaki had left when Kise was struggling against him. "I don't know."

By then, Aomine had removed Kise's jacket – Kise was now clad in his Kaijou jersey top. "We'll go slowly, alright?" Aomine placed a hand comfortingly on Kise's lap. "I'll go draw you a bath, and we'll go from there."

"Okay."

Aomine got up and made his way to the en-suite bathroom. Soon, Kise could hear the sound of water running and filling the bathtub. He really needed a bath – he felt filthy. Besides, he could still feel Haizaki's fluids within his body.

After a couple of minutes, Aomine came out of the bathroom. He motioned for Kise to enter the bathroom, and made to exit Kise's room.

"Wait," Kise gasped, rushing forward to grab Aomine's shirt. "Can you stay? And perhaps take a bath with me?" he asked shyly.

Aomine stared at Kise, perplexed. He had thought that Kise would be uncomfortable with other people seeing his naked body after what had happened. But it seemed that "other people" didn't apply to Aomine.

"It's just… I feel safer with you there," Kise explained, turning pink in the face.

Aomine's expression softened. "Of course, baby."

Kise smiled at Aomine gratefully. "You go on ahead, Daikicchi," he told Aomine. "I might take a while to get undressed."

"Don't worry about it," said Aomine, taking off his shirt and heading into the bathroom. "Take your time. I'll wait for you in the tub."

Kise watched Aomine disappear into the bathroom. He turned towards the full-length mirror on his wall and took a good look at himself. He looked terrible, with the red-rimmed eyes, wire-burns on his wrists and bruises on his arm. Kise was sure his manager wouldn't be able to recognise him if she saw him now.

The easy part of undressing was taking the jersey top off. When Kise's jersey fell to the floor, he stifled a gasp at the number of bruises and bite marks that littered his skin. He ran his fingers over the bruises, as if touching them would make them go away. When they didn't, Kise heaved a sigh and shifted his attention to his trackpants. He didn't know if he could bear to see himself naked anymore. But after squeezing his eyes shut and pulling down his trackpants, Kise knew that he couldn't bring himself to take off his boxers.

Kise walked into the bathroom. "I can't do it!" he cried. "I can't undress myself!"

Aomine immediately got up from where he was seated in the bathtub. "Shh, shh…" he murmured comfortingly. "It's okay – I'll help you."

Kise sniffed, scrubbing at his face to prevent Aomine from seeing his tears.

Aomine got out of the bathtub. "Look at me, Ryouta," he encouraged. "Look at me."

Slowly, Kise lifted his head to look at Aomine. Even through the tears in his eyes, Kise could tell that Aomine was trying for a soft and gentle expression on his face.

"Focus on my face," said Aomine softly.

Kise nodded. He blinked the tears out of his eyes and rubbed them away.

"How much do you love me?"

Without hesitation, Kise replied, "More than you will ever know." He was lost in the depth of Aomine's blue eyes.

Aomine hummed pleasantly. He knew Kise was no longer paying attention to where his hands were. He encircled his arms around Kise's waist and hooked his finger on the waistband of Kise's boxers. "Describe it to me," Aomine prompted.

Kise closed his eyes and thought about Aomine's question. How much did he love him? It was indescribable – he loved Aomine so much that it couldn't be put into words. Finally, Kise opened his eyes and whispered, "I love you so much that if you were a star that was not expected to return to the galaxy for thousands of years, I would still wait for you."

Kise had been so focused on his thoughts that he didn't realise that Aomine had managed to remove his boxers. Aomine beamed at his accomplishment. "Well, I love you more than I did yesterday and look forward to loving you even more tomorrow."

Kise felt his throat dry up at Aomine's confession. No doubt, they had only begun dating the previous year in their third year of middle school, but to hear those words coming from Aomine's mouth…

"Come on," Aomine extended his hand for Kise to take. He already had one leg in the bathtub.

Kise took Aomine's hand and allowed himself to be manoeuvred into the bathtub. When his body came into contact with the warm water, he let out a sigh of contentment.

Aomine smiled as Kise nestled himself against Aomine's chest. Then, Aomine reached out to grab an orange bottle on the rack just above the bathtub. "Let me wash your hair, okay?" Aomine squirted some of the bottle's contents into his palm and sniffed it. The familiar scent of peaches wafted through his nostrils. Aomine smirked – he had smelled that particular scent countless times when he buried his face into Kise's hair.

"Mmm…"

* * *

Later in the night, Aomine and Kise found themselves on the couch in the living room, watching the television. Well, at least Aomine found them doing that. Kise was fast asleep, his head resting on Aomine's shoulder while Aomine had a protective hand around Kise's shoulder. The television was playing softly in the background, but Aomine was not paying any attention to it.

Aomine's mind was filled with images of Haizaki forcing himself on Kise. Haizaki was a violent person, and considering his grudge against Kise, he would have been brutal with Kise. Aomine thought of the marks he had seen on Kise's body. He imagined Haizaki making them. He felt a stab in his heart as he imagined Kise in pain, screaming and crying for Haizaki to stop. If only Aomine hadn't left after the match… If only he had stayed back and made sure Kise was alright… If only he had walked Kise home…

So many "if only"s, but they couldn't change the fact that Kise had been raped and Aomine wasn't able to prevent it from happening.

At least Kaijou's game against Seirin was in the late afternoon, so Kise didn't have to be in the stadium so early in the morning the following day. He could stay home and recuperate just a little longer.

Aomine tightened his arm around Kise's shoulder, bringing the blonde closer to him. Aomine sniffed Kise's hair, which smelled like the peach-scented shampoo he had used on Kise's hair earlier on. Then, he planted a kiss on the top of Kise's head. Aomine would deal with Haizaki later. Kise was the most important thing right now.


End file.
